iPad, Apple Watch, and AirPods Named to Time Magazine's Best Gadgets of the Decade

TIME has published a list of what it believes are the 10 most important gadgets introduced in the last decade, and three Apple products have made the cut, including the iPad, Apple Watch, and AirPods.

The original iPad was unveiled by the late Steve Jobs in 2010, while the Apple Watch and AirPods were released in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

"Before the iPad's introduction in 2010, the idea of a 'tablet computer' was mostly relegated to slick science fiction movies and unwieldy laptop-adjacent monstrosities running terrible software," writes TIME's Patrick Lucas Austin. "Apple's iPad — like the iPhone before it — resulted in a cultural shift for personal computing, and set the tone for the next decade of portable devices."

Austin adds that the Apple Watch "set the standard for what a smartwatch could do," while he believes AirPods are "the gold standard of truly wireless audio," especially after the launch of AirPods Pro.

The list also includes the Tesla Model S, Raspberry Pi, Google Chromecast, DJI Phantom, Amazon Echo, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox Adaptive Controller.

Tag: TIME

Popular Stories

iCloud General Feature Redux

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Receive an All-New Perk

Thursday February 6, 2025 11:21 am PST by
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, Apple has a new perk for you, at no additional cost. iCloud+ is the official name for Apple's paid iCloud storage plans, which range from 50GB for $0.99 per month to 12TB for $59.99 per month in the United States. iCloud+ plans already come with multiple perks for free, such as Hide My Email and HomeKit Secure Video, and now there is another one...
2007 iPhone

Apple Discontinuing This 18-Year-Old iPhone Feature

Saturday February 8, 2025 3:51 pm PST by
The end of an 18-year era is on the horizon for the iPhone. Apple reportedly plans to announce a new iPhone SE as soon as next week, and the device is expected to feature a full-screen design with Face ID, instead of a Touch ID home button. That means Apple will no longer sell any new iPhone models with a home button, for the first time since the original iPhone launched. The home button...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Will Include These New Features for Your iPhone

Wednesday February 5, 2025 7:15 am PST by
iOS 18.3 was released last month, so the first iOS 18.4 beta should be coming soon. iOS 18.4 is expected to be a more substantial update for the iPhone, with several new features and changes related to Apple Intelligence and beyond. Apple's website suggests that iOS 18.4 will be released in April, following beta testing. Below, we outline what to expect from the update so far. Apple...
iPhone SE 4 Single Camera Thumb

iPhone SE 4 Launching as Soon as Next Week

Thursday February 6, 2025 3:30 pm PST by
Apple's next-generation iPhone SE could debut as soon as next week with a launch to follow later in February, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple isn't expected to hold an event for the iPhone SE 4, and will instead unveil the device through a press release. The iPhone SE 4 is expected to have an iPhone 14-style design, with Apple eliminating the thick bezels and Touch ID Home button of...
iCloud General Feature Redux

Apple Ordered by UK to Create Global iCloud Encryption Backdoor

Friday February 7, 2025 2:37 am PST by
The British government has secretly demanded that Apple give it blanket access to all encrypted user content uploaded to the cloud, reports The Washington Post. The undisclosed order is said to have been issued last month, and requires that Apple creates a back door that allows UK security officials unencumbered access to encrypted user data worldwide – an unprecedented demand not before...
iOS 18

iOS 18.3.1 Update Coming Soon for iPhones

Thursday February 6, 2025 7:31 am PST by
Apple is internally testing iOS 18.3.1 for iPhones, according to our website's analytics logs, which have been a consistently reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. The software update should be released within the next few weeks. iOS 18.3.1 should be a minor update that addresses software bugs and/or security vulnerabilities. Apple Intelligence notification summaries for news and...
Apple Leak Feature

Apple Leaker Issues Apology: 'Profound and Expensive Mistake'

Friday February 7, 2025 9:21 am PST by
Last year, we reported that Apple sued its former software engineer Andrew Aude for providing journalists with confidential information about the company's future plans, including details about the Journal app, Vision Pro headset, and more. As reported by 9to5Mac, the Superior Court of Santa Clara County on Thursday dismissed the lawsuit after Apple and Aude reached an agreement to resolve...
imac video apple feature

Apple to Announce New Products Next Week

Saturday February 8, 2025 10:55 am PST by
Apple has yet to release any new devices in 2025, but at least two new products are expected to be announced next week, according to rumors. Below, we outline the new Apple products that are likely to be unveiled next week. iPhone SE 4 Apple plans to announce the long-rumored iPhone SE 4 as soon as next week, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The new iPhone SE is rumored to...

Top Rated Comments

Justin Cymbal Avatar
67 months ago
I use my Apple Watch and AirPods Pro everyday

Apple continues to innovate 7 years after Steve Jobs passed away
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sykora171 Avatar
67 months ago
Agreed. So curious as to what devices will come in the next decade.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
EchoplexSE Avatar
67 months ago

I returned my Watch 5 (cellular) and the Air Pods because I was stuck between AT&T and Apple store employees for nearly 4 hours getting the watch to work.
In. The. Apple. Store. 4 hours. Apple blamed ATT, ATT blamed Apple. Both lost my business. I returned the Air pods as a further insult to poor customer service on Apple's part.
You really showed them!
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Iconoclysm Avatar
67 months ago

HUGE Apple fanboy here, but there is nothing so special about AirPods that they belong on this list. As someone who has bought and used wireless earbuds for YEARS before Apple got around to them, I can honestly say that Apple did not produce the first nor the best wireless earbuds available.
You did not use truly wireless earbuds for "YEARS" before the AirPods. The first wireless earbuds came along in April 2015, AirPods launched in December 2016. The Bragi Dash is the only competition the original AirPods had...and none of the competition even with wires pair so easily or had battery life on par.


Really? Really? A big iPod touch, iwatch, and tampon strings.
Yes, what's it like ridiculing industry changing devices with childish insults only to be proven wrong on an astronomical scale?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Iconoclysm Avatar
67 months ago

Sorry for turning more than a year into years, but yep..... my Bragi Dash and then Bragi The Headphones had no trouble pairing with my iPhones, did everything and more that the first AirPods did, and were WAY better than Apple‘s first attempt as they sealed your ear canal rather just hang in your ear. Even if Apple had released the Pros at the time they released the originals, Bragi should have gotten the nod.
"Trouble" pairing is not the same thing. And no, they didn't do what the first AirPods did in that regard, and they cost twice as much. They had worse battery life too. How is that "everything and more"? You don't give these types of awards to the first to do them, you give them to the one that made it a household item.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mitthrawnuruodo Avatar
67 months ago
Loved that first iPad.

Didn't get released in Norway (at first), so I went to London to get it.

Still in (almost) daily use in the kindergarten where my partner works, being handled by 4 and 5 year olds. :)
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)